This National Pickleball Day, Revelstoke's paddle-wielding and gold medal-winning club hopes it can serve up more court space by next summer to better support players and field capacity to even host regional tournaments.
Since its launch about five years ago, the Revelstoke Pickleball Club has seen its membership soar to around 130 players, making it an even more organized and popular choice of sport in town than tennis.
The club facilitates year-round access to court spaces, training and social events. Its youngest member is 14, while its oldest is an 82-year-old "trickster" who has "quite a good shot," according to club representative Greg Louttit.
And while annual membership is typically $30, support from the city's Resident Direct (ReDi) Grant program has helped offset that cost to $5 for some players.
"Some people will compare it to a yoga class, an hour session for $15 to $20, but come on," Louttit exclaimed. "You're getting lessons as well."
Mike Gravelle, who runs Skookum Revelstoke and earlier this year opened Neighbourhood Sports on First Street West, has taken the initiative to stock pickleball gear at his new store for local athletes.
"It used to be that we would have to go down to Vernon to buy our equipment," Louttit said.
During summer, two dedicated Columbia Park courts off Colbeck Road remain free to use, along with other courts at Queen Elizabeth Park. These facilities are owned by the city and maintained by the club, which in October switches to playing indoors for winter at St Francis of Assisi Parish.
"They were quite happy to have us as tenants, because we would rent their church hall as many as 15 times a week," Louttit said, adding that players often book slots for two hours at a time.
As a sport, pickleball matches athletes based on age and self-assessed skill, through a self-rated numbering system. The advantage of this structure is that teenagers can play competitive games with athletes more than twice their age.
"If you come out and offer me a good game, I really don't care what your number is," Louttit reasoned.
And despite its remoteness, Revelstoke is attracting pickleball enthusiasts from elsewhere as well, including parents seeking recreation with their children while passing through. Some athletes have hit the courts on visits from Arizona and Florida. Last summer, a pickleball family from wildfire-ravaged Jasper reached out to Revelstoke's club and stopped in town to play with local members during their evacuation.
"So many of our visitors have said something to the effect of, 'Your club is so welcoming to let us play here,'" Louttit said.
Likewise, Revelstoke is making a name for itself as a source of pickleball stars. The club has sent players to the 55+ BC Games, as well as tournaments in Kamloops, for-fun competitions in Sicamous and provincial championships in Vernon. This September, athletes will represent the city at the Rally in the Rockies Pickleball Tournament. Club members who scored gold medals this summer include Liette Foy, Miya Hayman and Debbie Daley.
"You start to go out and they say, 'Oh, Revelstoke, we remember you," Daley said.
"People are taking this all over the place," Louttit added, noting he and other club members have also played on trips to Las Vegas and Mexico.
When the club looked two summers ago at asphalt resurfacing the Columbia Park courts that had fallen into poor shape, the project presented a $30,000 price tag. However, it ended up winning enough support from the city to split the cost 50-50, paving the way for Tomko Sports to instill new life into the facility with a textured surface.
"They are recognizing the popularity of the game," Louttit said. "It is a visitor experience, of course."
The main challenge is that the club's plastic courts at Queen Elizabeth Park are in poor condition and pose a greater noise nuisance for neighbours. Louttit said the vision is to secure five or six brand-new courts in the city, whether at the park or elsewhere. While a big ask financially, likely to cost up to a few hundred thousand dollars, Louttit noted the smaller spatial needs for pickleball 鈥� two courts can fit inside one tennis court.
Revelstoke has yet to host a pickleball competition, but the club anticipates that having another half-dozen courts would give it the capacity, and could be an objective for summer 2026. A timeline for such a project could take between one and three months.
"We would love to have an expanded space," club president Will Hayman said. "The idea would be to host tournaments."
Hayman and fellow member Les Daley envision two options. For one, part of the Centennial Park infield for little league softball could be turned into courts, giving pickleball players easy access to the amenity.
"You'd have a great facility, central, parking, bathrooms, no noise complaints," Hayman said, estimating the price for such an undertaking at $100,000.
Alternatively, for a grander price of about $300,000, the club could push for a rehaul of the Queen Elizabeth Park courts, including proper asphalt surfacing where water doesn't pool after rainfall.
Both options would require a big ask of Revelstoke's parks, recreation and culture department, but members see the value of such an investment for the long-term growth and development of local athletes.
It may also help that the sport causes minimal disturbance to the community. In other reaches of B.C., pickleball has become a contested sport for the amount of noise it generates for neighbours. Taking this into consideration, club athletes' common courtesy is to only play between 8 a.m. and dusk.
"That's a concession to neighbours and noise," Louttit said.
As it happens, Columbia Park residents living near the courts are either players themselves who enjoy hosting backyard barbecues for club members or people who are tolerant of the noise and happy to make adjustments, such as sleeping in a different room.
"Haven't had to work through a complaint yet," Louttit remarked.
Regardless of whether a new set of pickleball courts lies in Revelstoke's future, the sport will continue to play an important role in the community for athletes of wide-ranging age and ability.
"I've heard some people say switching to pickleball was easier on their knees," Debbie Daley added. "It's such a fun camaraderie you see for the first time, maybe, and you see that from Vernon to Mexico."